DC Comics' Batman was released on Wednesday. By Thursday evening, it appeared on FilesTube and MediaFire, ready to download--free. Users can pick whether they want a regular download, or a speedier version that costs $49.97 a month. Welcome to the new world of comics, where the tactile sensation is gone and readers may choose to pay.

While the incorporation of comics into the digital realm may lead to a renaissance, it may also be a double-edged sword for collegiate readers. Some worry that piracy will excel in the digital realm. For example, the Apple iPad is the perfect platform for digital comic reading: consumer testing has shown that its built-in camera can take a high-resolution picture of a document, making it easier for it to be pirated.

Some comic consumers, such as fellow student David Pourshoushtari, do not feel that technological advances would make the number of illegal copies downloaded skyrocket. "I have too much respect for the literary world, which to me includes comics," Pourshoushtari said, adding, "I would just wait for the graphic novel to come out."

Perusing comic shops, one can find comic books that are 50 cents in price. With Marvel's online issues going for $1.99, some customers feel that it would benefit them more to keep the tangible issues and the comic shops.

However, it is rumored that comics will go up to $3.99. Right now, a comic goes for $2.99 and a run (which is usually seven comics per story arc) runs the reader $20.93. Marvel's new comic application, Marvel Comic Book Reader, charges the reader $1.99 each. This makes a full story arc decrease in price, to $13.93. Why shouldn't a college consumer take advantage of that?

However, Pourshoushtari feels differently. He said that it isn't worth it to do away with the 50-cent bins: "I don't know if I'm old fashioned or not, but I just feel like, if you buy a comic, you should be able to hold it in your hands and flip the pages."

Putting comics online will allow for a flood of new material and talent. The world of the comic book is highly competitive. Writers who have written for a couple years in the industry have had to stop and find another totally unrelated job. Budding writers and artists who may want to break into the industry could have a better chance of doing so in the digital market. The chance of getting a creator's work out there doubles, but that doesn't mean more people will be paid to publish.

"It is cultural distribution, not cultural production that is the key locus of power and profit. It is access to distribution, which is the key to cultural plurality. The cultural process is as much, if not more, about creating audiences or publics as it is about producing cultural artifacts and performances," media theorist Nicholas Garnham has said.

Blockbuster announced that it is struggling with profits because the movie business has entered cyberspace. Owners and longtime patrons of comic shops worry that the same thing will happen to them, and that the human interaction between consumer and seller will diminish. Most sellers have a discourse with their shoppers, and the sellers are a great vehicle for the comic companies to push sales of their books.

"[They] help me learn about new stories that are similar to what I already like, while at the same time, learn more about what I already [read]," Pourshoushtari said.

However, the cyberspace conundrum does not alarm Gerard McNeal, owner of Alliance Comics in Federal Hill. "Comics are extremely cool things to read, touch, hold, and own. Digital [marketing] is an expansion of the industry, and will bring growth for everyone by getting new people into comics. Nothing will replace the demand for holding a real comic book in your hand--all else is simulation," McNeal said.

Comic companies are currently consulting with store owners about making graphic novels more prevalent, diminishing the number of single issues. This would make the store lose up to 30 percent of single sales but would reduce their costs by 20 percent (because they require advanced payment). Where will the other 10 percent in profits go? The market for collected editions is out there, and if tangible products are in demand, then they would make that 10 percent and fill in the gap. In the end, they would benefit from it and bring in new readers who would come from the digital realm.

While the transition is not happening overnight, like anything in print, the internet is still uncharted territory. Marshall McLuhan said, "The medium is the message," meaning that the iPad and its progeny, are direct reflections of our society..